Railway-frog



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. R. CAMPBELL.

' RAILWAY FROG.

No. 437,977. Patented 0'07. 7, 1890 ,Ls'ecfa on onfle Zine 20750:

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WITNESSES IJV'VLEVVTOR 05 6V G. R. CAMPBELL.

No. 437,977. Patented 001;. 7, 1890.

UNITED STATES FFICE.

ATENT RAI LWAY-FROG.

'PEVIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,977, dated Ocjsbber7, 1890.

Application filed March 29, 1890, Serial No. 345,811- (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buoyrus, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Frogs; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit'appertains to make and use the same.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a simple, efficient,cheap, compact, durable, and self-cleaning frog.

Another obj eot is to produce in such a frog positive foot-guards atevery part and without diminishing the strength or durability of thefrog.

My invention consists in the form and arrangement of the parts, ashereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my frogcombined with tracks, as in use. Fig. 2 isa transverse section on theline it w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section on the line a: w ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is another section on the line y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is aperspective of the block or casting detached. Fig. 6 is a plan view ofthe same, and Fig. 7 is a longitudinal transverse section of Fig. 6.

Referring to the letters on the drawings, A indicates a block or centralportion of the frog. It is preferably made of solid steel. The outersides are formed so as to fit the grooves of ordinary rails B.

0 indicates bolts passing transversely through the block and the railson each side and adapted to secure the parts together. The contour ofthe outer sides of the block constitutes avaluable feature of myinvention and may be described as follows.- The middle portions of thesesides, marked a, extend parallel to each other the greater part of theblock. Near the heel of the frog at 17 upon each side the sides divergeat an angle, and at the point a, near the toe of the frog, an angle ofcorresponding divergence is formed. The object of this particular formis to provide for the transposition of the wing or side rails 13 uponthe block. The blocks may be made of different sizes and numbered andeach size made to conform to a fixed standard. The wing-rails are madeaccordingly and may be shipped, by number, to any frog of the samenumber. There is no danger of their failing to fit, on account of beingmade for the wrong side, because, by reason of the form just described,they are reversible-that is, the wing-rail adapted to be used on oneside may be used upon the other by turning it end for end. This is ofimportance in practical use, especially where repairs are to be madeupon the track, as it tends to avoid mistakes.

The toe is extended between the wing-rails until the distance betweenthe two is such as to prevent the possibility of catching a foot. Thisinsures a durable and positive footguard, which is very desirable.

The heel F extends beyond the end of the wing-rails and is provided witha tongue G, which on its part extends between the rails so far as toform a perfect foot-guard at this end. The rails are adapted to bebolted to the tongue G, thereby afiording the necessary strength andrigidity at this part.

The face of the block A is grooved to receive the flange of a car-wheel.The narrowest part H of the groove is located near the center of theblock, alittle nearer the toe than the heel. From H the sides of thegroove diverge toward the toe, and the groove gradually deepens in thesame direction from this point. The bottom is of curved form incrosssection, so that from the point H toward the toe there is formed asingle groove H, having a curved slanting bottom. From the same point inthe opposite direction a groove sets out, but is split in two by thetongue I. The tongue I rises gradually from a point near the part H tothe level of the face of the block. The outer sides of thebranch groovesJ J run nearly parallel with the sides of the tongue I until they reachthe point (I, from which they rapidly separate from them.

The bottoms of the grooves J J are curved in cross-section; but eachside of the tongue I, which forms one side of each of the grooves, isnearly perpendicular, so that the flange of a car-Wheel passing throughthe frog runs evenly, as upon an ordinary track. These grooves alsodeepen from the point H toward the heel. At the ends K the wing-railsand the blocks are cutoff square. The grooves J J at, this end, as abovesuggested, are very wide, the sides next the wing-rails being sloped atan angle of about forty-five degrees, while the side next to the tongueI is nearly perpendicular. By means of these flaring ends of the groovesJ J I am able to dispense with the spring-wing rails which it hasheretofore been necessary to adopt in practice where it was desiredtosecure a positive footguard on a frog of this kind. By avoiding this Iam able to employ in practice the reversible wing-railsabove described.

A frog made as mine of a central casting combined with side rails isfirmer and more solid than one made of a single independent casting andrequires very little attention; but any frog having a solid fiat bottomis better and cheaper than an all-rail frog-that is, one which is seatedupon separate rails because it does not cut into the cross-ties and workloose, as the other does.

It will be observed from the foregoing that provision is made againstcatching a foot at the ends of the frogs and that the grooves in theface of the frog, being all narrowed toward 2 5 the bottom, cannot catchthe sole of the-boot or the hoof of an animal. It will be noticed,

also, that the grooves slope from the part H toward either end, so thatthe frog will not become clogged with dirt and will not hold 0 water tobecome frozen in the grooves.

What I claim is- 1. A railway-frog consisting of the combination, with amain casting adapted to fit into the grooves of two opposite rails,having the middle portion of its outer side substantially 3 5 paralleland its opposite ends divergent upon equal angles, of outside railsformed to correspond in shape with the main casting and adapted, incombination with it alone, to form a frog in which the outside rails maybe reversed in use, substantially as set forth.

2. In a railway-frog, the combination,with outside rails, of a centralcasting adapted to fit therein and provided with grooves H and J J, theouter ends of the grooves J J being 5 flaring, each groove having oneside perpen-w dicular nearly its entire depth and the other side slopingat an angle, substantially as described.

3. In a railwayfrog, a central block or casting provided with grooves inits face, said grooves being inclined downwardly from a central pointtoward the end, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. R. CAMPBELL.

\Vitnesses:

ISAAC CAHILL, D. O. CAHILL.

